Demos Lab is an independent site about creative coding and interactive media art. We publish tutorials and guides on p5.js, Processing, TouchDesigner, shaders, generative art, projection mapping, physical computing and the culture around new media art. Many of our tutorials end with a live sketch you can run, change and remix right on the page.
What Demos Lab is
We make practical learning material for people who use code and electronics to make art. That covers a moving pattern drawn in a browser, a wall of light that reacts to a crowd, and plenty in between.
The site is new, and the library is still growing. We would rather publish fewer guides that work than many that half work, so each topic fills in steadily over time.
What we cover
p5.js. The JavaScript library that puts sketching with code in the browser. We cover first sketches, drawing and animation, interaction with mouse and keyboard, sound, webcam input and ways to structure larger projects.
Processing. The Java-based environment that started a generation of artists coding. We cover the fundamentals, along with techniques for print-quality output, data visualisation and longer-running pieces.
TouchDesigner. The node-based visual programming environment widely used for live visuals and installations. Guides walk through operators, networks, audio-reactive work and performance setups.
Shaders. GLSL fragment and vertex shaders explained from the ground up: coordinates, distance functions, noise, color and the maths that makes them click.
Generative art. Randomness, noise, recursion, particle systems, flow fields, tiling and the choices that turn a system into a finished piece.
Projection mapping and installations. Planning a space, aligning projections to surfaces, working with multiple outputs and the practical side of keeping a piece running in a real room.
Physical computing for artists. Microcontrollers, sensors, motors and LEDs, approached from the side of the artwork rather than the engineering textbook.
New media art culture. The history, ideas and debates behind the tools, so the techniques have context.
Live sketches you can remix
A lot of tutorials end with a working sketch embedded in the page. You can run it, edit the code and see what changes straight away, without installing anything first.
We treat these as starting points. Change a number, swap a color, break something on purpose. Reading about an idea is useful, but tweaking it and watching the result is usually where it sticks.
How we write tutorials
- Working code first. Examples are tested before they go up. When a library update breaks something, we fix the example.
- Explain the why. We show what each step does and why it’s there, so you can adapt it instead of copying it.
- Plain language. Technical terms get defined when they first appear. Maths gets shown visually where that helps.
- Honest scope. If a technique needs specific hardware, a paid licence or a powerful graphics card, we say so up front.
- Small steps. Long projects are broken into stages, each with something you can run.
Who this site is for
Artists who want to add code to their practice. Programmers who want to make something expressive. Students, teachers, VJs, designers and hobbyists who learn best by building. Complete beginners can start with the introductory p5.js and Processing guides; experienced makers will find more depth in the shader, TouchDesigner and installation material.
Independent by design
Demos Lab isn’t connected to any artist, studio or school, and we don’t speak for the makers of the tools we write about. Our opinions on tools and techniques are our own, based on using them.
That independence shapes the content. We recommend whatever fits the job, including free and open-source options, and we’re upfront about the limits of each tool.
Who writes here
Demos Lab’s tutorials and features come from two writers, and our standards editor checks every piece before it is published.
Mira Castellanos
Mira writes Demos Lab’s p5.js, Processing and generative art guides, with code you can copy, run and change. She loves noise, particles and small rules that grow into big patterns. Read Mira’s articles
Ezra Kowal
Ezra covers installations, projection mapping, TouchDesigner, physical computing and the history of media art, from the theremin to large-scale light shows. He is interested in how artists move work off the screen and into rooms, buildings and bodies. Read Ezra’s articles
Celeste Moreau, Standards Editor
Celeste is Demos Lab’s standards editor. Every article goes through her fact-check pass before it is published: dates, names, tool versions, code claims and art history are checked against documentation and the sources we cite, and anything unconfirmed is corrected or cut.
Where we’re heading
New tutorials, guides and live sketches are added regularly, with a focus on filling gaps in each topic so you can move from a first sketch to a finished piece without hunting across a dozen sources. Pick a topic above, open a sketch and start changing things.